Join us on the 6th floor of Hatcher this Thursday, 19 March, between 4-6p for our next Third Thursdays at the Library event of the semester! This open house will feature conservation work. 

Come chat with the conservators and technicians who care for the library’s rare and special collections.  The Preservation Services department is charged with caring for vast and diverse collections — from the world’s first atlas to (fake) blood-stained movie costumes. 

Projects on view will include structural repairs of bindings, complex paper washing, intricate custom boxes, and a large scale rehousing project. Some examples of projects involving technical analysis and multi-band imaging will also be presented.

NEW! Hennepin County Library Digital Collection: Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Minneapolis Sanborn fire insurance maps have been added to the Map Collection in the HCL Digital Collections. Sanborn fire insurance maps chart the growth and development of cities and provide a wealth of information, such as building outline, size, shape, and construction materials used. These large-scale plans, drawn at a scale of 50 feet to one inch, were created to assist fire insurance companies as they assessed the risk associated with insuring a particular property. Except where noted, all maps consist of the 1912 base map edited up through 1930. The Minneapolis Sanborn maps even include some inner ring suburbs and Lake Minnetonka area cities.

Tips for searching and browsing the Sanborn atlases:

Browse the Sanborn maps here.

Use the General Index in any volume to locate specific plates within each volume. Sections are color-coded for each volume and blocks are numbered with plate numbers. Click the blue arrow icon in the upper right corner of the image to zoom into the map.

Many landmarks including parks, lakes, churches, schools, hospitals, factories, bridges, and other buildings are identified in the descriptions of each plate. Search for these to quickly jump to a known landmark.

Additions are identified in the descriptions of each plate. If you don't already know it, you can find your addition name in the online Interactive Hennepin County Property Map. Then search the addition name in the map collection to find associated Sanborn maps.

Neighborhoods are also searchable, though you will get many results when searching by neighborhood.

To find non-Minneapolis cities, browse all and use the terms on the left to narrow your results by city. Click on the results, then edit the terms in the "Search this record" box to include just the city name. Next, select the "Filtered" button below the search box to view just plates for that city.

When you find your plate, click the blue arrow icon in the upper right corner of the image to zoom into the map.